Kayla Young
Makeup can help you hide imperfections on your skin. Concealer is one of the commonly used products used to hide blemishes or correct discoloration. That would include hyperpigmentation around lips.
The darker skin color around your lips may make you feel awkward. That’s why you turn to makeup. However, although makeup does a good job at evening out the skin tone, wouldn’t it be better to get rid of the hyperpigmentation instead?
That is possible and there are several to get rid of hyperpigmentation. We’ll discuss those ways in this article.
But before we focus on that, let us first tell you what might have caused the hyperpigmentation in your lips.
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What Causes Hyperpigmentation Around Lips?
Hyperpigmentation around the lips can cause you to be conscious about your appearance. There are several causes of hyperpigmentation. The best way to remedy them is to know the cause.
Additionally, there are some causes that could only be remedied with time.
They are only temporary.
Here are the possible causes of hyperpigmentation around the lips.
Trauma
Trauma to the skin could be due to any injury to the skin. It could include burns, acne, infection, or just spots. When they heal, they usually develop a darker discoloration around the mouth.
This is classified as post-inflammatory hyperpigmentation.
With this, dark patches can develop. However, they are not permanent and would usually fade on their own without any treatment.
Usually, it could take about 6 months for the hyperpigmentation to go away on its own. The skin will naturally heal but you can also help speed up the process by using different skincare regimens.
Those would include serums that are rich in antioxidants. Also, nourishing the skin will help make sure it can successfully heal on its own.
Melasma
Melasma is a hormonally-induced skin condition that could be present when you are pregnant. Some refer to it as the mask of pregnancy.
With this skin condition, brown or grayish discoloration could appear in various areas of the face. This would include the forehead, around the lips, and on the cheeks.
This condition is mainly due to the hormonal changes that occur during pregnancy. Sometimes, this can also happen to those who are not pregnant but are taking oral contraceptives that affect the hormones.
The dark patches are temporary and will eventually fade after you give birth or after you stop taking the contraceptives that affect your hormones.
Exposure To The Sun
Another thing that could cause hyperpigmentation around the lips is exposure to the sun. Due to the UV rays, it is more likely for you to develop sunspots or age spots.
Although the damage to the skin could usually be healed by the skin itself, aged skin may not be able to conceal spots effectively. That is especially true if you usually tan under powerful tanning bed bulbs or under the sun excessively.
A way to prevent this is to use sunscreen and limit your exposure to UV rays.
Apart from sunscreen for your skin, you should also apply sunscreen that’s designed for your lips, on the face, and especially around the mouth.
Make sure that you reapply regularly and avoid ingesting the sunscreen.
Medical Reasons
When your body doesn’t have the right balance of vitamins, specifically vitamin B12 as well as vitamin D, the skin may be more prone to developing melasma.
Supplements will be enough to remedy this problem.
Sometimes, it is not only due to vitamin deficiency but also due to the medications you are currently taking. If your medication is causing hyperpigmentation, all you can do is wait till you get better to stop the medication.
Always consult your medical doctor before stopping any medication prescribed!
Remedies To Hyperpigmentation Around Lips
There are a few ways to help you get rid of the hyperpigmentation around your lips. You can try the following below and figure out which works best. Sometimes, you can also combine them but always remember to be gentle with your skin
Exfoliate
Exfoliation helps remove the outer layer of dead skin cells that could be causing your skin to look darker. When exfoliating, make sure to do it gently.
Usually, chemical exfoliants like those with AHA and BHA are gentle enough to remove the dead skin cells without causing more harm to them.
See our article on chemical peels for hyperpigmentation for more.
Brightening Serums And Creams
No products found.There are now different skincare products that can help brighten the skin and reduce dark areas. Usually, these products can come in a serum or cream form.
They have various brightening and whitening ingredients like No products found., niacinamide, arbutin , vitamin C, azelaic acid, and many others.
Prescription Ointments
You can also consult a dermatologist if you have hyperpigmentation around the lips. There are some ointments that they could prescribe. These usually contain substances that prevent your cells from forming too much tyrosinase. That helps fade the dark areas quickly.
Laser Treatments and Light Therapy
Although exposure to UV rays can cause the skin around the lips to darken, other types of light used in laser treatments can help lighten them
Usually, laser treatments help boost the production of collagen and elastin. This helps brightens and heal the skin to reduce the dark spots.
Light Therapy can also help tackle hyperpigmentation.
Natural Remedies
There are also other DIY natural remedies that you can use to help brighten the dark areas around the lips. These have skin-lightening properties that you could use to help lighten the area. Such would include the following:
- Oatmeal Scrub
- Lemon Juice
- Potato Slices
- Papaya
- Aloe Vera
Cover It Up
You may just want to wait out the hyperpigmentation, and it will hopefully go away. You can always do your best to conceal the color differences (depending on severity) with lipsticks, lip gloss, and the like.
Conclusion
Hyperpigmentation around the lips can be caused by a variety of factors including trauma to the skin, melasma, sun exposure, and other medical conditions. Whatever the cause is, you may be frustrated by the look of hyperpigmentation.
In many cases, hyperpigmentation on the lips is just temporary. They will eventually lighten but you can also use different remedies to help speed up the process.
Such remedies would include exfoliation, brightening serums and creams, prescription ointments, laser treatments, and other natural remedies.
You can also try to conceal with lipstick.
